Categories: Sport

Roberto Mancini named as Saudi Arabia’s national team coach

Roberto Mancini managed Italy for five years before being named Saudi Arabia head coach. Claudio Villa/Getty Images CNN  — 

Roberto Mancini was announced as the new head coach of Saudi Arabia’s men’s team on Sunday, just two weeks after resigning as manager of his native Italy.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Mancini wrote that he was “honored to be selected for such a prestigious role” and that he will “proudly continue to bring our Italian culture to the world.”

He continued to say he has “accepted to embrace such an exciting new project, grounded on a shared vision and purpose to grow the national football sector as well as the young talents and the future generations.”

Both Mancini and the official Saudi national team shared a video on X showing the 58-year-old wearing a green tie and drinking a coffee. At the end of the video, Mancini says, “I made history in Europe. Now it is time to make history with Saudi.”

Mancini won Euro 2020 with Italy. John Sibley/Pool/Getty Images

Mancini was head coach of Italy for five years, winning the men’s European Championship with the team in 2021. However, Italy failed to qualify for the Qatar World Cup in 2022 under his stewardship and currently sits third in its group for the 2024 edition of the European championship, behind England and Ukraine.

At club level, Mancini has managed Inter Milan and Manchester City most notably, as well as a stint with Zenit St. Petersburg in Russia. He won Manchester City’s first English Premier League title in 2012 in dramatic fashion.

Sebastian Munoz of Torque GC during the final round of LIV Golf DC at the Trump National Golf Club Washington DC on May 28 in Sterling, Virginia.  LIV Golf/AP

Saudi Arabia’s men’s national team sprung one of the surprises of the 2022 World Cup, defeating eventual champion Argentina 2-1 in the group stage.

The country has been investing heavily in sport in recent times, with teams in the Saudi Pro League – the professional men’s league in the country – signing a slew of global stars, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, and reigning Ballon d’Or holder Karim Benzema.

Saudi Arabia’s next fixtures are against Costa Rica and South Korea in September. Both games are being held at St. James’ Park, the home ground of Newcastle United. Newcastle is majority owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth fund of the Gulf state, which is chaired by crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Share

Recent Posts

Man in India regains consciousness before his cremation on funeral pyre: reports

close Video Dozens of Christian graves toppled and vandalized in historic Jerusalem cemetery Israel Police…

2 hours ago

Trump administration takes shape: President-elect completes top 15 Cabinet picks

President-elect Trump has rounded out his picks for the top 15 positions within his Cabinet,…

3 hours ago

Rabbi feared kidnapped, killed by terrorists after going missing, prompting investigation

close Video Israeli Prime MInister Netanyahu pushes back on ICC charges Fox News senior foreign…

4 hours ago

Civil Air Patrol plane crash during Colorado training exercise leaves 2 dead, 1 injured

close Video Civil Air Patrol plane crash in Colorado leaves 2 dead, 1 injured The…

5 hours ago

Justin Trudeau dances at Taylor Swift concert amid destructive riot in Montreal, sparking outrage

close Video Montreal demonstrators clash with police, set off smoke bombs in destructive protest A…

7 hours ago

Trump taps Texan Brooke Rollins as agriculture secretary

President-elect Trump tapped Brooke Rollins as his agriculture secretary. In a statement on Saturday, Trump…

7 hours ago